MOSCOW (MRC) -- Prime Polymer Co., Ltd., a joint venture of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (65%) and Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (35%), has announced the full-scale production startup for its metallocene-based polymer "Evolue" at the new plant of its Singapore subsidiary, Prime Evolue Singapore Pte. Ltd., a joint venture of Prime Polymer (80%) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (20%), said Mitsui on its site.
Evolue boasts impressive strength, airtightness, and heat sealability, in addition to low odor and low fish-eye. Demand for this performance-driven sealant material used in liquid and powder packaging is expected to continue to rapidly grow in Asia. Together with the current Evolue plant at the Ichihara Works, the new plant will bring the Group’s annual production capacity to 550,000 tons.
This significant increase in production volume will solidify the Group’s position as the top provider in Asia, including Japan. The Group will continue to strengthen and expand its Evolue business while contributing to the development of Singapore's chemical industry full-scale local production efforts.
Prime Evolue was established in 2012 for the sales and production of Mitsui Chemical’s Evolue LLDPE in Singapore. The venture, owned 80% by Prime Polymer and 20% by Mitsui, and with a capital of USD115-million, built a 300,000-t/y Evolue production unit, as MRC wrote previously. Initially, construction was scheduled for completion in December 2014, with commercial operations to start during the second quarter of 2015. Equipment problems at feedstock provider Royal Dutch Shell postponed the planned August 2015 opening of the plant for making advanced PE Evolue.
MRC